This quick and easy recipe for Sweet Lemon Iced Tea will be a summer favorite – It’s so refreshing and full of fruity flavor!
It’s that time of year again – Time to enjoy warm, sunny days outside. There’s nothing better than a relaxing day at a sunlit beach or laying by the pool taking sips of a tall glass of Sweet Lemon Iced Tea.
Why this recipe works:
- The hot brew of the tea helps to give a robust quality.
- The fresh lemon juice gives a fresh vibrant flavor you just can’t get with store-bought.
I adore iced tea. Back home in New Jersey, I drank it all year round. They don’t sell mixes here in England and although I find the occasional bottle of ready-made in the grocery stores, it’s really hard to come by.
After so many summers of craving iced tea, I decided to try my hand at making my own, and ever since, I make it all the time.
You can never have too many iced tea recipes right? If you love iced tea, you can also check out my recipe for Sweet Peach Iced Tea – It’s delicious!
This Fresh homemade iced tea recipe is so easy to make, the only tedious part is getting all the juice out of those lemons but, please use fresh juice – it is so worth it in the end!
How To Make Lemon Iced Tea
Boil 4 cups of water then add to a large heat-proof pitcher.
To the hot water add the baking soda and sugar. Mix well until the sugar dissolves.
To the hot water add the tea bags and let steep for 10 minutes. The longer you steep the stronger the taste.
Remove all of the tea bags. Add the lemon juice.
Top off the rest of the pitcher with cold water. Place in the refrigerator until chilled.
When ready to serve, add lemon slices and ice to the glasses then pour the tea.
Enjoy every last sip!
Top Tips For Perfect Iced Tea:
- To avoid potential dangers, if you’re not sure if your pitcher is heatproof, prepare the tea in a saucepan and transfer once cooled.
- Make it to your taste: Iced tea recipes are easily adaptable. You can brew it strong or light or make it unsweetened or sweetened. Once get the basics, you can make it according to your taste.
- Don’t skip on steep time: Iced tea gets diluted so you really want to extract the maximum amount of flavor from your tea. Steeping long enough to get the most flavor is vital to a quality brew.
- Control the sweetness according to taste: Try adding the sugar in stages and taste as you go to adapt the recipe to your taste.
- To keep the tea from being watered down, add the ice to your glass instead of the pitcher.
- To keep the fruit from breaking down, add the sliced lemons to the glasses instead of the pitcher.
Flavor tips and variations:
- Tea blends – This recipe calls for plain black tea bags, but you can use whatever blend you like. For instance, fruit-infused black teas tend to make great iced tea.
- Using Green Tea – If you are using green tea, the hot brew method is particularly important as it can get bitter if you steep it cold.
- I have made this recipe using other citrus fruits like orange, tangerines, and limes. All of the flavors have been delicious so don’t be afraid to play around and create your own!
FAQs
Why is Baking Soda used in iced tea recipes? Baking soda neutralizes the bitterness of the tea and gives it a much smoother taste.
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Let's Make Sweet Lemon Iced Tea
Ingredients
- 4 cups Water
- ¾ - 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 10 tea bags black tea
- The juice of 6 fresh lemons
- 4 lemons sliced
Instructions
- Bring 4 cups of water to a boil.
- In a large, heat-proof pitcher/jug, combine the boiling water, baking soda & sugar mix well to dissolve the sugar. Add the tea bags and let steep for 10 minutes (the longer you steep the stronger the taste).
- Remove the tea bags.
- Add the lemon juice and fill the rest of the pitcher/jug with cold water.
- Refrigerate until chilled.
- Add lemon slices and ice to a the glasses and pour the tea over the ice and lemon slices to serve.
Tips + Notes
Nutrition Information:
Update Notes: This post was originally published in August of 2014, but was republished with new photos, step by step instructions and tips in June of 2018.
KITTY says
Love it!!! Going to try bottled lemon next time though because hand squeezing takes too long. Otherwise delish.
Erren's Kitchen says
I’m so glad you liked it Kitty, thank you 🙂
Just looking for recipes to try. says
This was delicious, I usually prefer hot tea but since it’s super hot lately I decided to give this a go. Thanks for the recipe.
Erren Hart says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Munchawski says
Please note, when you change the amounts in ingredients list, the amount of lemons does not change (or it didn’t for me anyway) so adjust the amounts as necessary as 6 lemons will be far too much if you only want to make enough to serve four 🙂 Anyway, the recipe is amazing! Will be making this regularly!! Thank you so much!!!
Erren's Kitchen says
Hi, thank you for pointing that out I will have to look into it, I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
SQuinn says
Just tried this recipe as I had no soft drinks in the house. I was sceptical of the baking soda, but I followed the recipe exactly and it’s the best iced tea I’ve ever made! I don’t usually review recipes on the internet but I just had to say how brilliant (and easy!) this recipe is!
Erren's Kitchen says
That’s fantastic to hear, so glad you liked it 🙂
Michael West says
Hi how can I make it slightly fizzy any ideas ?
Erren's Kitchen says
Hi Michael, The only way to make it fizzy would be to add lemonade? I haven’t tried to make it fizzy before but it sounds like an interesting idea 🙂
Rae says
In your glass use 3/4 tea and 1/4 can of la croix or similar! Would cut the sweetness a little too, which could be a pro or con depending on your taste.
Archibald Jonathon Liam Williamson the 2nd says
This recipe was great I will make this loads!
Erren's Kitchen says
Thank you so much 🙂
John says
What does the baking soda add to the drink?
Erren's Kitchen says
Hi John, the baking soda neutralizes the tannins in tea, giving it a much smoother taste.
Vishal Kala says
I loved your article. it’s really interesting and helpful.
mohamed beydoun says
it’s a very popular drink in Thailand it was my fevered drink ever even sometimes I buy a sachet of the powdered drink it tastes nice but the fresh drink is better it depends on who make it but unfortunately some taste watery for the money profit so when at home I use the sachet it’s really well made, so now I’m in Sydney Australia and here they sell the bottle expensive and no taste at all so I follow your way
Erren Hart says
I’m so glad, Mohamed! Enjoy!
Kath Bain says
How long can the iced lemon tea be stored in the fridge Erren?
Erren Hart says
Hi Kath, it stores well for at least 5 days.